Watercolor Card Painting

Now this is just silly.  After the acrylic painting class I could not sleep so was up a lot in the night.  I did some more of the "three dots" paintings which were awful, then I did some spatter painting.  Finally, I did a painting that in all silliness I titled!

This painting I call "Cardinals at Play".  I turned it into a greeting card which I will send out tomorrow to a dear friend.

This will probably be a one-of-a-kind...

Lilacs: Next Iteration

Well I worked on the lilacs some more.  They are still pretty nasty but I am learning what not to do!  Fun, either way!

With results like this, you know I am going to keep going to see if I can save this painting...however, it will be a while, maybe months, before I get back to it.

Midnight Painting: Watercolor Background for Lilacs

The other night I could not sleep for anything.  Finally I got up and began working on a lilac bouquet.  This is just the background.  Maybe some time soon I will get to the rest of the flowers. 

Hopefully it will look like something after a lot more work.  As I look at it in the clear light of day it looks rather wretched.  Well, it IS just the background.  I will try not to do negative self-talk about it.

A Watercolor Attempt at a Birch Tree

Birthdays are coming fast and furious in our family and among our friends.  I tried a fall birch tree scene again that I had enjoyed watching The Frugal Crafter teach us.  Rather pitiful result but fun to try. I may try again soon.

Rather than tell you all the things I don't like about this, I will say what I learned.

1.  Cheap watercolor paper does not always give the results you might hope for.  I love making clouds but the clouds did not make it on this paper.  Sadly, I am not sure which paper this was as the cover is missing.  I believe I had better luck with Strathmore watercolor paper.

2.  It is possible to paint in many different locations and pretty much with whatever you have around you.  I wanted the have this picture have a white border.  To do this on the actual painting you need to tape the paper to something first.  Since I did this work at the office I discovered that my desk calendar was just the right size to tape down a 4.5 by 6 piece of watercolor paper.

3.  Wasting supplies annoys me.  However, when starting with 9 by 12 watercolor paper, which you can cut into perfect quarters, means that the card to which you affix the painting wastes some of the underlying card.  I found that cutting the card stock 10 by 6.5 gives a pretty nice foundation.  If I want to not waste the card stock, I cut that 4.25 by 11 which gives me two nice card bases, but then the painting has to be cut down, so, either cut down the watercolor paper first to fit the card base, or go with the wasted card stock with the larger painting.  This did leave a nice 2 by 11 piece of card stock plus a little 1 by 6.5 inch piece to play with.

4.  To have a better painting, more time is needed.

5.  To make a card I really like includes a foundation card stock I really like.  I have recently cut up a whole package of 8.5 by 11 Park Lane card stock in floral designs.  I cut two cards from each sheet so those cards either need the watercolor paper to be cut smaller (or wasted) OR I need to do something else for the front of the card.  I might go back to splatter painting with pen and ink drawings of some nature.

Either way (either I like what I produce, or I don't) it is so enjoyable to make cards for loved ones.  Since I cannot be there in person for everyone,  it makes me happy to reach with cards I have made with my hands.

Easy Watercolor Card, Step By Step

In the interest of learning to make a better watercolor card, I decided to make the card for Granddaughter T step by step, drying the card after each step to see what would happen.  It is not a great card, but it is much better than my usual, I think.  Much less muddy colors, in my opinion, which is a result of drying in between steps, the first time I have done this.

The first thing I did was to wet the paper with a 1-inch flat brush.

Next I put in the blue, then green background color.

Since I wanted some clouds in the sky, and since I had failed to bring paper towels to my desk, I scrunched up a Kleenex to make the clouds.  Not really successful. I won't use Kleenex again.  Also I will try to have the color a bit more even...having said that, I do love paper toweled clouds.

Using the 3/8" deer foot brush I dropped in the beginnings of some flowers.

Next I made some grasses and stems.  Not liking the green by itself, I added some lemon yellow and some yellow ochre.  The lemon yellow was supposed to give the impression of perhaps some other kind of low-lying floral entities.  Not sure that was successful.

Since the main flowers seemed a little naked, I found some similar colors to tap in some filler. and perhaps add more background.  At least, that was the idea.

When I showed the previous picture to Daughter M, she suggested maybe some birds or butterflies or something would be good. I liked the idea and went with birds.  I do think they were an improvement and added a more pleasing dimension to the picture.

When it came time to mount the painting on a card,  I went with a rather busy background card stock.  This is a Park Lane card stock.  I would love to find the actual manufacturer of the paper and see if I can order just the card stock that I like best instead of the multi-pack.  I LOVE their green background card stock. 

Watercolor Failure!

It turns out that I really like the look of spatter paint as a background in watercolor.  I have enjoyed making little panels then turning them into a card with something on top of the spatter.  It occurred to me that if I got a small sieve I could make better spatters.  Wrong!!  At least the first effort turned out to be a bust.

This little sieve I found at Dollar Tree.  The brush is a 3/4-inch oval wash Majesty by Royal and Langnickel.  The paper is Artist's Loft watercolor.

This is what I did--so others will know what not to do.

First I wet the brush in good shape then put lots of water into the red paint cake in the palette.  I picked up a good bit of water and brushed it across the sieve. INSTANT BLOBS of red.   Since that was not what I was going for but thought I could perhaps use them as flowers I let them be then tried tapping the handle of the brush against the metal ring on the sieve.  That DID give me the desired spatters.  Worked great.

So I tried with the blue.  I meant to just do the splatter but I had too much watery paint on the brush and it just dropped right through the sieve onto the paper.  More blobs, blue this time.  Still, I did a little spatter.

OK, I wanted to try the yellow since I am all about the primaries.  I washed the brush again, dropped water into the yellow cake then picked it up. ONCE AGAIN instant blobs, but they came out green since they mostly fell on the blue blobs.  R-r-r-r!  Not what I was looking for.  I did the tapping again and did get more spatter but this was also almost green.  Must be the brush was not completely cleaned from the blue.  Oh well.

Now I had seven large blobs of paint.  I thought perhaps if I took a wadded up paper towel I could pick up some of the blob.  Well, yes, I could, BUT rather than improving things,  the central red, blue, and yellow blobs flowed together instead of up into the towel.  Not really that pleasing a look...unless you like granulating colors.  Well, on second look now that the paint is much more dry, it is a little more interesting.  I will probably use it.

There is much to learn, isn't there?!  In every field of endeavor.

Spatter Paint Cards with Additions!

Since I am participating in a drawing class by Lindsay Weirich over the internet I have decided I am brave enough to do some actual drawing.  And show it publicly.  The idea is that if I learn to draw decently then I will paint better.  This is my hope.

Since I have next to no shame, I am showing what I have come up with so far on this card project.

The first picture is my practice run.

Yes, I know they look like first grader art, but I am brave and giving it a try.

Here are the card fronts.

It is obvious that the trial train was better than the card train but I have not learned the art of erasing so as to leave something good behind so I will just send it anyway.

The tree kind of tickles me.  It is supposed to be a sort of gnarly old tree in the winter time since it actually IS winter. And the recipient is moving in the second half of life this year.  One could pretend that the spatter was a snowstorm with flakes tumbling down.

The card front in the background is a sled hockey player, in case you cannot tell.  This particular sled hockey athlete scored one or more points in a recent tournament!!  So happy for him.

Watercolor Card Attempt

This new year I hope to make progress with watercolor painting.  To do this I need to take the advice of Ed Kadunc from whom I took a series of classes at Court Street Arts in Haverhill, New Hampshire.  He said to become an artist requires little steps consistently taken...every day work a few minutes and eventually we will improve.

He was a wonderful teacher, and one I would love to learn from again.  I have no creativity myself, but can follow instructions to some extent.

Working on my own, this is what I come up with:

Pitiful, but still fun.  I am grateful to recognize the poorness of this effort and yet feel it is a starting point.  I wish I had a copy of the best painting I did with Ed's assistance.  I don't really even remember it, but recall that it struck a chord in me.

Watercolor Card with Deerfoot Brush

The other day I wanted to send a card.  I brought the 3/8th inch deerfoot brush to work.  Over lunch I worked on a little watercolor painting.  This is what I painted.

 Not fabulous, but fun.  It is time to get back to painting, I think.

Watercolor Painting: Deerfoot Brush

Recently I signed up for a watercolor online class.    So far I have only watched the first couple of classes.  She talked about brushes.  I had never heard of a deerfoot brush.  There is a Blick Art Store near us.  I found a 3/8" deerfoot brush there.  I used it to make these pictures to turn into greeting cards.

The brush is rather cool.  I went back to Blick to get a 1/4" deerfoot brush!  I do not know what difference it will make, but I like this first effort.  Very fun.  Lindsay recommended at 24-color travel kit, which I also purchased. It is the Daler and Rowney Aquafine field kit.  It is not like I don't already have half a dozen other field kits, but....well...these are good colors.  AND as I follow the lessons, I will have the exact colors so my work should turn out looking like hers--at least the colors will!

Another Card

Elder and Sister J reached 44 years together this week. I was going to make a pretty little cake and bring it to the office.  Since everyone seems to be trying to get back to the original sylph-like form that may or may not have been a stage in life, I decided to make a card instead.

This is the card.  First I embossed it then I painted the embossing.  After that I spattered it. I like spatters.  Inside I used some StazOn ink and stamped the cute little lovebirds.  Finally, I painted them with some cheap watercolor crayons an art teacher talked me into buying after a Michaels class.  I had tried them once and turned my nose up, but now I tried again.  They worked out ok. 

Sorry.  I cannot figure out how to stand it up correctly.  The grass is supposed to be at the bottom. Sorry. Again.

To put the card together, I made a little mat that was about an eighth inch larger than the painting which gave about 1/16 inch all around...barely visible but still there.

These little guys were on the inside of the card, more or less in this situation.  It was a fun card to make.

More Cards, Watercolor: Not Very Successful

Birthday cards were on the plate recently.  I made them doing something a little different.  They are not very successful, but I sent them anyway! I guess I have no shame.  Well, I was thinking about these loved ones so why not send them word?!  Even if poorly executed.

Having made these pretty poor specimens, I have now acquired a nice double-thick piece of plexi-glass to mount watercolor paper on with low-tack tape to keep it smooth while I paint. One added benefit is that there is then a nice white border around the painting.

In my view, this looks like pink worms on the trees/bushes, but it is something.  It was an interesting thing to try. Now I know to try something different. I love to learn new stuff...

The envelopes made to go with the cards used the WeRMemoryKeepers Envelope Punch Board. When I cut the paper 8.5 by 8.5 there were strips left over so I mounted them on the inside and wrote a message there.  Photography being what it is, you cannot probably really see that the yellow part says "Happy Birthday" on a background of little dots.  It does look sort of cute up close.

 The yellow card, encased in an embossing folder, was run through the Big Shot only once through.  It turns out this yellow card stock is not the highest quality, or at least not as thick as I thought it was.  The embossing folder almost cut through the paper!  As it happens, I have a stack of that paper, in many colors, about 3 inches thick.  Oh well.  Better use it up quick and get some better stuff.  Well, I have a file drawer FULL of the good stuff in Vermont.  At least, I think I still do...!

Watercolor Painting: A Fail For Sure. Good for a Laugh. A BIG Laugh!

Today I went to paint with friends.  We painted from live models.

Here is the first model.  Well, here is my second painting of the first model.

What creature do you think it is?  I have had three "dinosaurs", an aardvark, and an anteater.  Dear One just asked, "WHAT IS IT?"

When you look at the next picture you will be able to tell what creatures we were painting.  I think.

Dear One looked at this one and laughed.  Later on I showed it to him up close.  His comment, "Oh, it is two of them.  I thought it was one dog with a bad chin!"  That is so funny.  I loved it.  I am still laughing.

Well, first attempts at anything are often less than stellar.  At this point I think I can say, without a LOT of work, I will not be a dog painter.

Watercolor Quick "Primitive" Painting

A friend is having a birthday soon.  Not all my supplies were at hand so I decided to just do a quick little painting and attach it to a card blank.  This is what I managed in the short time I had with the few supplies I had.  Not my best work.  Not my favorite work.  Still, it is somewhat colorful, which is something I like.

Watercolor Painting: Loose Floral Bouquet

A dear sweet friend painted me a lovely picture of cute animals. AND she made it into a greeting card and sent it to me!  I was so happy.  I thought I might try to do the same.  This is the painting I made.  Very loose and simple.  I may try some more along this line.

Often I like paintings that go off the edge of the paper.  In retrospect, I don't like this as much.

Derwent Inktense Watercolor Pencils

The Frugal Crafter has mentioned, and demonstrated, the Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils multiple times.  Recently the Holiday catalog came from Dick Blick's Art Supplies.  There were deep discounts on these pencils.  I looked at them for quite some time.  Ordered the small set to try them out, BUT had the order declined because of a problem with my payment.  It turns out that I had not updated my online buying method the last time my info was stolen by someone in Texas...

After I fixed the purchasing info I started looking around to see if I could get these Inktense pencils at the same price elsewhere.  I could!  At a site which had no shipping charges!  SO  I went ahead and made the plunge, going for this much bigger box.

So far I have not done any real work with the pencils, but winter is coming on. I am hoping to give up many of  the other activities on my plate and hunker down with these pencils, a pot of water, and some wonderful Arches watercolor paper which was a gift from a friend.  Well, and maybe a basket of previously started knitting projects...knitting is always good winter work in a rocking chair beside the woodstove.

When Lindsay Weirich suggests any color supply set, she usually says to purchase the largest set you can afford rather than buying a small set then a larger one, since that way you always have duplicate implements.  I did not want to go the $100 set, which was the largest offered and which price was half price at Blick. Yikes!  One hundred dollars was half price!!!  I could not afford that set.  (Actually, I want to spend the next $100 I have to play with on DNA testing, for whatever that will be worth.)

When I have anything completed, I will show and tell my experience with these Inktense pencils.